[No. 199] Shoma Hamada

Thank you for this valuable opportunity to contribute to the Alumni Relay Column.

I studied for six years in the Department of Mathematics and the Center for Mathematics, and I currently work as a non-life insurance actuary (*1). I would like to look back and share my story from university entrance to the present day.

(*1 A professional in mathematical operations who uses methods such as probability and statistics to evaluate uncertain future events.)

Many graduates of the Department of Mathematics say they have loved math since they were children, but I was not very fond of math up through high school. This was because many formulas were only derived intuitively, and many of the practice problems were nothing more than simple formula manipulations, which I found dry and uninteresting. On the other hand, I enjoyed studying subjects like physics and chemistry that explain real-world phenomena. Therefore, at that time, I was strongly conscious of "application to the real world" and actually knocked on the door of Gakumon 2 (now Gakumon C) of the Faculty of Science and Technology, aiming for the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering.

My university life began in this way, and there were three turning points in my life, which I would like to introduce in order.

The first turning point was taking the required first-year courses "Mathematics A3/B3" (now 3A/3B). In the calculus lecture using the epsilon-delta argument by Professor Tatsuo Iguchi, who would later become my academic advisor, I initially felt a sense of despair at the difference in level from high school. However, I remember finding it very interesting that various theorems, which I had previously only understood intuitively, were rigorously proven. This lecture was the catalyst for me to realize the fun of mathematics, and in a complete turnaround from before I entered university, I decided to advance to the Department of Mathematics, which deals with abstract theory.

Also, I cannot talk about my student life without mentioning the volleyball club. In addition to practicing twice a week, I participated in and cheered at tournaments on weekends and attended almost all the regularly held training camps and events. I feel like I spent much of my university life on club activities.

However, this does not mean I neglected my studies; on the contrary, I gave them my all. From the second year onward, most courses were electives, but thinking, "I might as well learn a wide range of subjects!" I took most of the courses offered by the department and graduated with 192 credits, against the graduation requirement of 138 (laughs).

In the Department of Mathematics, students split into two majors from the third year onward (*2), but although I was a math major, I also took many courses from the Major in Statistics. Looking back, if I had been picky and avoided statistics at that time, I would not have chosen a career path as an actuary, so this can be called the second turning point. You never know what will change your life. (*2 Starting in the 2019 academic year, the major selection in the Department of Mathematics was changed to take place in the fourth year.)

For my fourth-year laboratory assignment, I chose the Iguchi Laboratory without hesitation and studied partial differential equations. It's a fond memory how I struggled with both English and mathematics in the seminar format, where we presented content from a nearly 1,000-page English textbook for two to three hours every week.

And the third and biggest turning point was the "Risk Mathematics" and "Insurance Mathematics" lectures (courses for learning actuarial mathematics) by Professor Tsuneto Yamauchi. At the time, I didn't even know the name "actuary" and took the courses with the spirit of wanting to learn broadly, but learning about the existence of actuaries and their fundamental theories became the foundation for my current career.

After graduating from university, I went on to graduate school. My research theme in graduate school was a bit more physics-oriented, "elucidating the properties of water waves under specific conditions," which fulfilled the "application to the real world" I had been conscious of when I entered university.

Although the research itself was interesting, as you can probably tell from what you've read so far, I'm the type who prefers to learn "broadly and shallowly" rather than "deeply and narrowly." So, after completing graduate school, I chose to work in the financial industry rather than in research or teaching (there was also the matter of my mathematical skills being insufficient to proceed to the Doctoral Programs...).

As I was job hunting in the financial industry, I had many opportunities to hear from senior actuaries, and feeling that I might have an aptitude for it, I focused my job search on actuarial positions, even though I hadn't taken any of the qualifying exams. I received job offers for actuarial positions from four companies, but among them, I was interested in non-life insurance, which deals with a wide range of risks, so I joined Sompo Japan Insurance Inc.

After joining the company, I worked in the risk management department and was seconded to a government agency. I am currently in the investment department, where I am involved in a wide range of tasks, including balance of payments management and DX promotion. I successfully passed all the actuarial exams in my third year at the company. After that, I also obtained the Chartered Member of the Securities Analysts Association of Japan (CMA) certification. Currently, I work in a role that is a mix of actuary, analyst, and data scientist. As someone whose motto is "broadly and shallowly," I enjoy tackling a wide range of tasks every day.

I am also partially involved in the training of actuaries within the company, serving as a study group instructor and creating textbooks. My university experiences, such as presentations in seminars and exercise courses and my knowledge of LaTeX, have been very useful in my work.

Incidentally, there is a "Sompo Japan Mita-kai" within the company, and the connections among Keio University alumni continue to expand even after becoming working adults!

I believe I fully enjoyed my university life, putting my all into my studies, club activities, hobbies, and part-time jobs. However, while university is a time when you can try anything, it is also a time that passes in the blink of an eye. I hope that all of you will also enjoy your precious, once-in-a-lifetime university experience to the fullest!